……and ushering in the Lucky Seven :)

Archive for the ‘Randomness’ Category

You know, I really want to add more to this blog in terms of content. Right now, I’m stuck in a rut where all I can write about, are my kids (which I don’t mind, really. They are the reason the blog exists in the first place 🙂 ) . Its just that for the last two days, I’ve been wondering what to write about and frankly, I drew a blank when it came to matters concerning solely me! It is a little unnerving, to know/realize that nothing is churning my mind enough for me to voice an opinion or start a discussion. How dull have I become 😦 !!

On the plus side, on an impulse, I threw a potluck lunch at home today. Invited the few friends that I have here. They were very sweet and even at the short notice, turned up with their dishes. Honestly speaking, I’d been planning the potluck for ages, simply because there is no other way to socialize here. I have one friend, she in turn knows the wives of her husband’s colleagues and just like that we all became acquainted.

It was a fun afternoon. Though we just had a couple of couple of hours together, it was time well spent. We ate Paani-pooris, Puliyogare, vermicelli-Upma, Chhole-puri, Daal-vadi, Pizza (by me) and Rasgulla!! Believe me, by the end of the lunch, we could barely move 😀 ! With heavy hearts and even heavier tummies, we broke up to collect our respective kids from school 🙂 .

Thanks for coming guys 🙂

Notice the lights? T’was because the day got terribly dark and dreary towards noon.

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Another weekend’s here and the BF is yet to get back. Right now he is in Pune, with the rest of the family (his and mine). My little cousin brother is getting married and the family has come to attend the wedding and the festivities! All I can do from here is send my brother my love and best wishes. My parents, husband, brothers and sisters are all in one place and I’m far far away from them.

Could I be any more sorrier for myself??

Nope!

Am missing everyone terribly 😥

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American women have a thing for nails. I am yet to come across an American woman who does not have well manicured nails. Both the hands will have nails of equal length (unlike most Indian women who prefer to decorate the left hand but leave the right hand free for practical purposes!). The colors would be bright, with plenty of nail-art (glitter, stones, intricate patterns, you name it !!)

The nail spas here must be doing a roaring business!

Compared to them, all the Indian women I know, have neatly trimmed nails, very few remember to use nail-polish and I’m sure none of us have ever entered a nail-spa here!

Anyhow, one fine day, I decided to take a break and grow my nails. It took weeks but I finally managed to get them to a decent length. After shaping and buffing, I applied the hardener, colour polish and then the top-coat (I can’t believe I actually know so much about nail-polishes 😀 ). The fingers looked good! Really, really good. I flaunted my hands, with a new-found confidence in their appearance.

And then came dinner time.

And with it, the realization that the women who were the inspiration for my nail-effort, surely weren’t the types who went home to cook dinner for their families.

Take the simple example of chopping onions (an ingredient without which I just cannot cook. Period!) . Firstly, I couldn’t hold the knife at the regular position because that would make my nails touch the chopping board. So I held the knife more towards the end of the handle. The left hand fared no better. I had to hold the onion, yet cut it such that I don’t chop my nails in the process.

I used to be known for my onion chopping speed, but with the long nails, I think I took thrice the time to cut one onion. The nail of the left index finger suffered some chipping, which was corrected with some nail polish. I somehow persevered and finished my cooking. But it wasn’t just the problem with cooking. The nails came in the way of scrubbing the tub or washing the toilet-bowl. I was afraid of them tearing while scrubbing some heavily greased pan or while doing the laundry. Heck, I couldn’t even type properly with them.

On the third day, I took the nail clipper and chopped off the nails. Also removed the nail-polish for good measure. The nails look just like they used to before. My hands don’t look fancy anymore.

But you know what? I’m actually relieved. I realized that having clean and workable hands are more important to me than having glitzy ones which come in the way of everything I do.

For people who do manage all their regular tasks with fancy nails, I say, good for you 🙂

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The kids got their first set of assessment result yesterday. All straight A’s except for a ‘B’ in Writing! As soon as I saw the report , I made them sit and write two pages of text from any story book of their choice. The BF, when I told him of the result, was a little miffed that the kids didn’t get a ‘C’ or a ‘D’ in anything! In fact, he feels that I push the kids too hard and he doesn’t want them to be the academic types who only score in exams. Though the kids got an A in Gym, Music and Arts, the BF wasn’t satisfied.

Anyhow, I was pretty surprised when the kids didn’t protest the writing imposition I laid on them. I thought they will yell at the prospect of extra writing after they finish their regular homework! But it was not so. When I asked Shobby if he knew why I was making them write, he said, ” Yes I know. Because we got a ‘B’. ‘B’ is for BAD. We need to get an ‘A’. ‘A’ is for ALL GOOD “.

Well, he said it, not me 😀

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Its getting chillier by the day here. So much so that I make sure I reach the twin’s school just as their teacher leads the children out to the gate. Standing at the gate, waiting for the kids can be a torture, with icy winds piercing the skin and getting into any openings between the jacket and muffler. Making the kids wait for me would be even more cruel! I’ve got the timing down pat though. My kids are the first to leave school 😀

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And just like that, the last two entries veered towards the kids!

I just can’t stop writing about them, can I?!

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Thanks to you all, I have finally managed to collect the required documents for my passport. Hopefully, I’ll get a submission date sometime this week and after that, all is in Allah’s hands 🙂 . I think I’ve been jinxed enough already. Every time I get one step closer to joining the BF, something or the other pulls me back two steps! BTW, have I mentioned that I finally got my visa? Well, I did, after a horrendous wait of 10 months! There are many other factors which will decode whether I finally get to join him or not! Keeping fingers crossed…….the twins are so, SO keen to see the snow…and hopefully (inshaAllah), we’ll fulfill their wish this winter 😉

Else, I’ll just hand then both a cube of ice 😐

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I had to get my photograph taken this weekend for the passport submission. The neighborhood Kodak store came to the rescue and the fellow assured me that I’ll get good quality prints in an hour. Well enough, I said, as I sat demurely in front of a white curtain. A look at the mirror in front of me had me a little worried. For the last few weeks, I have been suffering a severe facial allergy which has left me with some horrible red/brown rashes. The marks were still there 😦

The photographer took a couple of snaps and asked me to select the one which I wanted to get printed. I selected the least offensive one and went my way. Later that evening, I collected the snaps and came back home. Going through the snaps, I realized that , man! I still look good 😀

But hey, wait an effing minute? Is that my snap?? Well…it did seem so.

Then, why did it look so different?? I mean, it was me, but it was somehow not me? Got what I’m saying?!

And then, with a bang, it hit me – The photographer Photoshoppedme 😐 !!

There was distinct airbrushing around the cheeks and nose which gave me a smooth , blemish-free alabaster skin tone! I’m not sure whether to be flattered that I have such a lovely snap of myself (which will eventually go into my passport) or be appalled that the guy took the liberty to Photoshop me without my consent 😐 !! Did I really look that bad in person?!!

Truly torn 😐

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The house-help snapped!

Not at me, or at any of her employers. She finally snapped at her husband.

This maid (lets call her L )has been with us for the last 5 years. She is a gentle soul and like all gentle souls, she was subject to inhuman levels of physical violence and torture by her husband. In her words, its not just his drinking habit which is at fault, it is his mental instability which is the root cause of his illness. She had him treated many times, even got him admitted with a psychiatrist, but there was no luck. She suffered his wrath because he was ‘ill’ and like a good dutiful wife, it was her duty to stick by him. Though we begged her to leave him and move out with her children, she was afraid of what ‘people will say’ and refused to do so.

Anyhow, last week, for the first time in her life, she raised her hand at him. Beat him with a broom, she confessed. For a long time now, I’ve been goading her to fight back, to not take his violence sitting down, to think of the repercussions of the discord on her children (who are blessedly boys and above 15 years of age). The husband did not take the broom-hit lying down either. He threatened to kill her and her children . That was enough for her to snap . She has complained to a local women’s group about him, logged a police complaint and even told him that she will be leaving the house. He, in turn told her that he is ready to leave himself, provided she shell out money for his everyday food and drinking 🙄 .

Obviously, the lady is so ticked off that she wants him to rot in his house 😀 . Sometime this week, she will look out for a new accommodation for herself and her sons and move out for good.

I’m really happy for her, for her being able to finally take a stand , to open her eyes and realize that a husband who is less of a man is no ‘pati-parmeshwar’ she has to suffer for life.

Send your good wishes her way please….she needs all the good vibes for the difficult task of breaking free 🙂

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Antibiotics make me crazy!

Am on a dose of heavy-duty antibiotics for an infection I ignored earlier and which is now rather severe (What?!! Can’t the educated be stupid for a change?!). So the dosage is rather high and it is doing strange things to me (besides killing the bad bacteria inside me). I’m woozy, have difficulty keeping my eye-lids open, though I’m in complete control of my mind and I think I know how Pinocchio must have felt with his wooden body.

Antibiotics bring out empathy. Must note that one!

Its tough typing out this post with only one eye open at a time. This line is courtesy the right one. The top para was by the left.

The meds have also given me the patience of gun-powder. So just don’t ask me how I am…most likely I will bite your head off first and then spit out the remains to figure out what exactly it was that you asked about.

So yeah, Antibiotics make me crazy. Very crazy.

*Snoooozzze*

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Why do children turn to gold in the night? And then turn right back into the devils in the day-time?

I was feeling rather low last night, the above antibiotics were kicking in with a frenzy and my inner turmoil was buzzing loud and clear in my ears. The twins were a tad upset to see me so distraught, so they did the best they could. Snuggling up to me, they put their little arms around me and muttered the sincerest promises they could come up with.

“Mumma, we will never do any masti again”.

“Mumma, we will always listen to you”.

“Hum kabhi bhi zidd nahin karenge“.

“Mumma, always aapki baat sunenge“.

“I will never ask for anything”.

“We will be happy with what you give us”.

I think I passed out even as they kept cooing their vows into my ears.

This morning, I think I’m the only one who remembered them vows. The kids were back to being the brats they are.

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As the title denotes, this isn’t a concrete post (Dunno when was the last time I wrote a serious ‘topic’ based post 😐 ) but more of the little things that are happening around me.

To begin with, when I came in to my office this morning, my machine wouldn’t recognize me. Did I type in a wrong id? No. Did I type in a wrong password? Heck, No!

I simplycouldn’t login to my machine 😦

Plenty of calls to the sys-admins and a few hours later, I could finally access my machine and my mails. It seems that my machine had ‘somehow’ gone off the office domain and couldn’t be identified. Talk about walking off into the sunset without a backward glance 😐

Anyhow, my machine was roped back in and I’m now thankfully looking at my blog (I love it 🙂 )and my inbox (empty as usual. Sigh. WHY don’t I ever get mails, huh?!!)

…..work life is back on track 🙂

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Took the train quite late, but I finally have a new smartphone, the latest Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. Its quite pretty and lightweight and does everything but make me a cup of morning tea! 😐 . As long as I can reach the BF 24×7 on video calls, I’m not complaining. Plus, I can also publish posts from it (it’ll take some time though, proof being my previous post). I just need to trim my fingers into fine tapers so that 3 letters don’t get typed when I supposedly hit one.

Cousins and relatives are taking turns, introducing me to WhatsApp and every other conceivable app that exists in the play stores. Thanks people, but I really don’t think I’ll be using even half the features listed for the device 😐

I do have a few games installed, but they have all been hidden from view. I’ve never let the twins use any of my previous phones , except to talk to people. With the smartphone too, they’ve kept their distance once I told them that it was solely for my official use and NOT for their time-pass. The twins, bless them lord, have not asked me for it even once. They do feel upset when “other kids get to play on their mother’s phone”. I feel bad too, but then, rules are rules. They are usually upset for a few minutes after which both are back to playing with each other.

Not sure how long this charade will work though 😦

Right now, my kids have no clue how to unlock a phone. Shobby knows that sliding a finger across the screen will get it to work, but he doesn’t know that he needs a press a tiny button at the side to get the screen active 😀 . I’ve never shown them how its done and am glad that their ignorance persists 🙂 .

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I also have a new bike now, the Access 125. My TVS Scooty had the proverbial one wheel in the grave and another on a banana peel kind of situation. It still runs fine, except that for some reason, it tends to veer towards the left and would probably go in a circle if I don’t steer it back to position. It was pretty trying, overall. Hence the new bike. I haven’t got the registration number for it yet so I’m not using it. But every time I see it standing tall and proud in the parking, my heart soars 😀

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Pretty soon, I’ll be working from another client side office, this one would be around 15-16 Kms from my place (This would be my second “local” onsite 😀 😀 ). Not liking the idea one bit, but the only other option was to get a project in another office location which is around 26km from my place. I chose the lesser devil 😦

The clients have a bus service which would come for pick-up at 8AM. The twins leave at 8:30AM. So now, not only do I have to get up earlier and wake up the twins and get them ready, I also have to worry about the 30 mins they’ll be spending at home before the MIL herds them to their school van. My worry is that the two will most likely go back to sleep wearing their school uniforms (ironed with great difficulty by me!) . The MIL has reassured that she’ll make sure they catch their van in time 🙂

The plus point is that I’ll have an hour’s idle time in the bus. Precisely the reason why I opted for the smartphone. Will be using the morning hour for a blog post 🙂

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Dad, Mom, Bhabhi and Little M are in town 🙂

We had a get-together at home yesterday and the twins had a blast. Aapa was there with her two kids and together the five of them turned my house upside down 🙂 . The best part is that we totally ignored the kids and let them entertain themselves. Once Shobby taught the others how to rock a Hula Hoop, they were all occupied for nearly and hour, taking turns and improvising 🙂

We made Biryani and Sheer-kurma, the typical Eid menu, only because none of them were here during Eid time. For some unknown reason, I also made my chilly chicken specialty which was well received 🙂 . I was standing in the kitchen the whole time and believe me, by night time, my knees felt like bricks!

But it was all worth it, because nothing beats getting to spend time with loved ones, isn’t it?!

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Thats all for now folks, there’s more to write about but plenty of work to catch up on too. See ya tomorrow 🙂

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Some of it was good, some was okay and some things were too hard to deal with. Overall, I don’t regret a single day of being at home 🙂

The funny part is that, now that I’m back in office, at least 4 people have asked me if I had a boy or a girl 😐

Go on, laugh it off…its not everyday that a woman takes off 5 months from her professional life to do – nothing! Alas, I had to disappoint them. It was hard, because the lump that formed in my throat was tough to push down. It was hard not to burst into laughter or cringe at their conclusion. It wasn’t their fault , really. Given my expanded form due to inactivity, anyone could be mistaken. In fact, now that I look back, I realize some people did give me pitying looks…hmmm…wonder what they were thinking!

*Sigh* Such is life 😐

Anyhow, I’m back at work, sans new kids, thank you very much. Am much refreshed and raring to go. But before I go into all that I’m going to do, here’s a summary of all that happened before :-

1) The BF came back for a vacation in April. Since the kids were on leave, I was on leave and he was on leave, we had a blissful time together. Late mornings and even later nights were the order of the day 🙂 . We didn’t go out much because of the terrible heat but it was just wonderful to be free and without work and worries for a while. Truly, it was a time well spent.

2) Me and the BF had a bike accident. A day prior to the BF’s departure, we were returning from visiting his friend, whose wife had delivered a bonny baby boy. On the way back, we were forced to apply brakes because a couple of teenage guys took a wide turn at high speed and were about to collide with us. If we hadn’t braked then, all of us would have been hurt. Thankfully, it was just us. And even more grateful we are to Allah that we didn’t bump our heads or break any bones. We had a hundred bruises all over but none of them were deep or critical. The BF was guilt-ridden and pain-ridden. He just wanted to go home. I was sane enough to suggest that we needed to get the wounds cleaned up at a hospital. Luckily, the bike was functional and we somehow made it to the hospital close to our house. It was nearly 12 in the night and the casualty department had a couple of more patients.

The nurses on duty cleaned us up well I admit, but it stung like hell. Like HELL!! Can’t even begin to describe how it felt when some acid was poured on the open wounds to kill the germs. By the way, I’m proud to say that we didn’t squeal one bit. I almost passed out with the pain, but I didn’t squeal or yelp 😀

3) A lady at the hospital thought I was the BF’s mother.

So there I was, waiting outside while he was being tended to inside. This lady, who had accompanied her aged father to the clinic was waiting outside. She started this small talk about old age problems. “Its very difficult for people of his age”, she said, pointing to her father,”In another 10-15 years, even we will be facing the same fate”.

A warning bell rang at the mention of “we”, but I kept a sympathetic smile in place.

“We women our lucky in some things, unlucky in some”, she continued,”Osteoporosis is a big concern”.

I nodded my agreement.

“Aapko bhi problem hoti hai kya?”, she asked.

Huh?! What?? Was she talking about the Big O and me in the same breath?

“Err…..what problem”, I asked innocently.

“Wahi...Osteoporosis, 40 ke baad toh sabko hoti hai“.

😐 😐 😐

I couldn’t speak. Frankly, with the pain and the shock of the accident, this added insult was the last straw. I just looked at her blankly.

“Is that your son inside”, she asked. Probably she didn’t understand my silence.

“No. He’s my husband”, I said as firmly as I could.

“Ohhhh. O- OHHHHHH!!!!”.

Yup, that was the last I heard from her.

When I mentioned it to the BF, he said that it wasn’t the lady’s fault. While we were skidding, we embraced the road-dust for nearly 20-25 feet. He said my hair almost looked grey-white and my face looked no better.

But yeah, am still bitter about the whole thing 😦

4) A Wedding in Tamil Nadu. After simply ages, I got to meet my relatives from Tambaram and the surrounding areas, thanks to cousin H’s wedding. If there was one blot on the entire proceedings, it was the heat. I swear I could fry omelets on the road. The kids got sick and tired of the sweat, so did I.

The saving graces were the trips to the wonderfully clean beaches and of course, Pondicherry. Its Puducherry now, but somehow, I prefer the “Pondi” to the “Pudu”. The lovely blue water of the sea, the clean, CLEAN golden sand, loads of sea shells, two squealing with delight kids and my parents. Life couldn’t get any better. I really wish the BF could accompany us , but he was back in the US by then.

5) The Bangalore Trip. A trip to the “maika” is always welcome, isn’t it? Somehow, knowing that you can get up late, sleep late, eat what you want, not eat if you don’t want to, just laze about or go visit the Bro and Sis whenever the mood strikes is so liberating. Not that I can’t do all of that here, but somehow, parents tend to pamper us and make it really hard to go back to reality 😦 . It was a wonderful time. The kids had a blast with Cousin SA and M, whom they get to see just about once a year. They bonded well, played to their heart’s content and luckily, required very little monitoring. Unfortunately, Aapa couldn’t join us with her two kids, she was stuck in Pune 😦

6) I finally started driving our Maruti. I joined a four-wheeler driving class and summoned up the courage to take out our car. I still haven’t got the confidence to take it out at peak rush time, sticking to the 6AM slot when the roads are relatively empty. But I’m confident I can make it to a later time slot shortly. So wish me luck 🙂

7) My uncle passed away 😦 . About three years back, my aunt had passed away. My uncle took her demise rather badly. He never came out of his grief. In the last three years, he became a different person altogether. His health deteriorated rapidly. On the aunt’s birthdate in August, he expressed his desire to join her. A week later, he was admitted to the ICU for bleeding in the brain cavity after a routine dialysis. He slipped into coma shortly after and never came out. The day after Eid, he passed away. Its been a terrible loss, specially for my cousins who have lost both parents. But they are young boys, one of them is even married. I’m sure they will get their lives back on track.

But one is never too old to not need a parent. I can’t imagine my life without mine!

8) On the lesser issues, the twins started school, became smart-mouths by the minute and started giving me hell, we had some renovations done in the house (which required my staying at home throughout the day), The BF came back for another short vacation (he’s here right now), we had an engagement in the family, did lots of shopping and got loads of gifts from the BF (I LOVE this guy 🙂 ) and I’m sure I’m missing out more things to list, but I’ll stop for now. My fingers are aching from all that typing 😀

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Its one of those days you know, your mind is so full of thoughts, all varied and mixed and you just want to vent them out because really, you want something new to think about.

You don’t?

Oh well, must be only me then 😀

Anyhow, so one of the things I was wondering about was ….why do schools ask pre-schoolers to get project charts when it is immensely clear that the kids have no hand in making them in the first place? What kind of pleasure do the teachers get out of making parents feel like a school kid all over again? I thought I had left that life far far behind…..alas, it comes a rude shock when I have to prepare a chart on “Taste Buds on our Tongue” for Shobby one week and “Lifecycle of a Butterfly” for Lui the next. It doesn’t help that their diaries say that the said chart has to be sent ‘tomorrow’. Reaching home late from office, imagine my plight as I rush to buy the supplies and then spend hours preparing them charts, that is , after feeding the kids, having dinner, ironing their clothes and mine for the next day and giving the kids their milk and putting them to sleep. Since I reach home around 8:30 pm, guess what time I finally finish those charts?

Anyhow, have a look at the fruits of my labor from last week :-

For a midnight effort, it isn’t bad, but it could have been better if I had more time 😦

PS: It was fun to dabble with the sketch pens and crayons after ages 😀

PPPS : I forgot to take the snaps of “Tastebuds on our Tongue” chart while I was making it. I forgot about it once again, after going to the school 😦

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You know whats the best channel for wholesome music on radio:

Akash Vaani (not the movie,the Vividh Bharti Prasaran).

I’ve been listening to the radio lately (for the last month, since the BF is away) and I’ve come to the conclusion that – Commercial channels cheat us terribly. I have a string of voes against them, because –

they play the same set of songs, in different sequences, every 2-3 hours.

they snip off sections of songs(to make them shorter), so that if you are lip syncing to it and voice the next lyric, you’ll find that the singer has jumped to the last lyric of the song. Pretty disconcerting, I must say. Also, there are times when the advertisements run for ages and finally, finally a song plays thats your favourite….and BAM!!! It is abruptly stopped because that particular show’s time is over. Aarrggghh!!!

steal song time and bombard us with advertisements. Favourite ads running in Pune are the ones related to –

i) Property/Construction/Websites selling property
ii) Insurance/ policies
iii) Gujrat tourism
Frankly, I didn’t mind the Ads earlier, but as my listening time increased, I realized just how much we are bombarded with property news. As for the insurance ones, believe me, they are puke-inducing 😐 . A precocious little girl’s voice asks her father if she is eligible for a particular policy which gives a gazillion returns on terms that the girl surely has no idea about. The ‘father’ proudly claims that the little girl is indeed eligible.

Hah!!

Wouldn’t it have been better if he’d confessed that he had already bought her the policy?? You lead a little kid on to believing that the particular policy is the answer to all her problems and then leave it at that? Who’s gonna purchase that effing policy, you dodo?!

Coming to Gujrat Tourism, aggressive marketing barely covers it. I’m almost convinced there is only one other state in India (other than Maharashtra). It is a little baffling to see how all the other states are mute in terms of their state’s tourism. Why the silence guys?? You don’t want people coming over to your place?

The Gujrat Tourism ads (in Amitabh Bachchan’s voice) were rather interesting earlier. They are just irritating now. If I hear a GT ad 6-7 times in a 30 min period anymore, I’m surely gonna be put off that place forever 😦 . Being aggressive is one thing and being a pain-in-the-ears is another. I think the Gujrat Govt just went overboard towards the latter.

I think Vivid Bharti does a much better job. Each program is well defined. You get songs from all the ages, not just the current hot numbers. There are limited adverts and within a span of 30 minutes, we get to hear 8-10 songs, unlike other channels which play 10 songs in an hour!!

So yeah, switch to 101.00 Mhz, I say. Its the safest bet where music is concerned 🙂

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We’re getting some woodwork done in the house lately, making a few cabinets, cupboards ,etc. I think its been going on for simply ages ! It doesn’t help that –

a) we are all away at work and the carpenter turns up only after the in-laws get back home

b) our carpenter prefers working alone 😦

I think I’m severely ticked off with the sawdust now……if we aren’t busy inhaling it, we are busy wiping off a hundred surfaces coated with it 😦 . Its everywhere!! Even in my bedroom which is the farthest from the kitchen (for which the work is going on !)

To top it, our carps got an attitude to get on anyone’s nerves. He doesn’t talk much. Mumbles most of the time. Asks for suggestions, confirms a zillion times and then does what he feels is right.

We’re all just counting the days till we finally bid goodbye to him 😐

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Its appraisal time in office once again! I’ve been contemplating what to enter in the self-appraisal section. Whatever I enter wouldn’t make an iota of difference because I’ll be on sabbatical when the actual promotions will be announced. Obviously, people on long leaves are never promoted. Fact of life 😐

*Sigh*

But what needs to be done, needs to be done. I gotta finish this activity by tomorrow.

Could you guess I’m just not into the mood to do it?

Yeah well…..such is life!

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I just got a call that my best friend got married. Yipppeee 😀 😀 😀

*doing a jig in my cube*

Given all that she went through, I’m glad she finally took that step!

Seriously darling…you deserve a separate post all to yourself..and I promise that I will do one for you. But for now, I HAVE to mention it, because I’m just so darn happy 😀

Happy marriage day 🙂

I’ll remember it ALWAYS because it falls on the day after my parent’s wedding anniversary.

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Hi there, yes you, who are reading me right now. Thanks for dropping by, even though I haven’t been keeping up my promise of posting regularly 😦

The reason for my absence are the reasons above in the title. Some have had a larger impact than the others. Like the fact that when Mom was here and I decided to spend the weekends with her at her place, for the three weeks of her stay, the first weekend, Shobby was ill. The second weekend Lui was down. The third weekend it was my turn. Thats 6 days of constructive time lost when I met my mother after an entire years plus two months!! How can one ever recover that time?? We didst get a chance to sit and chat. We couldn’t go out anywhere together and my long-term promise to Mom about taking her out for a Marathi play was once again left at that- a blank promise which Mom is sure , will never get fulfilled 😦 .

The Flu was the worst, because it took a serious toll on the kids and me. Even though I’m out of the fever phase, I’ve been coughing for nearly 2 months straight! This week, I threw away all the medicines and pills….they weren’t working anyway. With the twins, it was worse, because like all kinds of illnesses, they became bed-ridden, cranky and prone to crying for long durations. We are all much better now (Alhamdulillah!)

Just when I thought I was getting back on track, I lost my cell-phone. It wasn’t a very expensive one, but it was valuable….because it was a gift from the BF, it had LOADS of pics of the twins, a million mushy messages from the BF and my innumerable contacts, my friends. It was a terrible feeling, this sense of loss and though I got back my original number back…it has been a painstaking effort to update the phonebook once again (okay now, please resist the gyan on the back-up. I know I should have done it…but I didn’t . So there!! Maybe I deserve to lose the phone for being so tardy, but please, kindly resist the temptation to rub it in 😀 ).

It seems Ramzan came by and left in a jiffy. Was it really a month already?? The fasts were tough this time. The days were longer and by 6:30 pm, even the most devout couldn’t resist peeping at the wall-clock, willing the minutes hand to move on faster 🙂 . In our case, half the house-hold came down with the flu and though we coughed and hacked our way through the days, the fasts were nevertheless studiously kept. Hope the One Above has taken note of it 😀 .

Talking of Ramzan, I think there was one particular day that was tough for me. It was the time I had to rush out of office for some quick errands and when I started my bike in the office’s parking lot on the first floor, I found, to my utter horror, that I had a flat tyre. Now, I had two options – a) chuck the bike and borrow a friend’s bike for the errand, the bike could be sorted out in the evening and b) sort out the bike first and then run for the errand.

Given that by the end of the day, I would be cranky with hunger and weakness, I decided to opt for b)

Bad.Decision. 😦

It took me a good 20 minutes to drag my bike for nearly a kilometer uphill at 12 in the noon. That was the nearest repair shop near the office. By the time I handed over the bike, the throat was parched like filter paper and I seriously prayed for rain, if not for drinking, then at least for helping me cool off the excess heat. But no such luck was forthcoming. 40 minutes later and 500/- lesser (I had 5 punctures plus two large tears on the front wheel), I rushed to finish my work and headed back to office. Luckily, I was on bench and didn’t have to report to any manager 🙂

And that brings us to work. Well, the clients of the previous project yanked the rug from under our feet 😦 . After sitting aloof for a week, I finally got a call for a project in our SEZ branch. Now, the reason I’m loyal to my company is that, they take cognizance of your needs. When I told them that I wouldn’t like to spend half my day traveling to and fro from work when I have little kids at home, they didn’t pester me with threats. Rather, I just had to wait it out till another project opening came up (which I currently am in). There aren’t many companies that are so considerate 😐

The current project is a lot of work, but its also the kind of work which keeps me pepped up! It is new, interesting and even after so many years, I have scope for learning new things. Considering that I plan to retire in a few years, it brings me immense comfort to know that I can still learn (jaded horse that I am otherwise 😀 ). The better part of Ramzan was spent with learning the ropes of this project and I’m glad to say that hunger and thirst didn’t come in the way of my catching up 🙂 . By the way, Ramzan is over, I’m back to binging and it feels pretty good to put in more than 100% 🙂

Eid by itself was a muted affair. We weren’t celebrating in the conventional way (no new clothes, except for the kids, no mehendi or inviting guests) because of GMIL’s demise a few months back. I had no idea we would miss the lady so much 😦 . I guess she was the driving force behind our celebrations and I’m sure that even if we had decided to celebrate, it wouldn’t have had the charm that was prevalent when she was holding the reigns 😦 . We miss her 😐 . Specially the kids 😦

Thats all for now. For all those who were concerned about my well-being, here’s a BIG HUG for you all. Your mails were a super sweet gesture of your concern. I love you all 🙂 . I’m alive and kicking and though I have a zillion posts in my head, a non-cooperative WordPress at work and non-cooperative kids at work impair my ability to post regularly. Kindly bear with me. Once things settle down a bit, will try and be a bit more regular.

BTW, I’ve been reading you all regularly (and wondering at the wonderful styles you all have!). Pardon me for not commenting……the feature is blocked by our firewall at work and by kids at home 😦 .

But seriously, getting back to blogging feels wonderful :).

Love,

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So many little things to share, where do I even begin??
Okay, I’ll start with the woes with my bike.
I own a Scooty Pep+, a sturdy little thing which completed 5 years this Feb.I like the Scooty because it consumes very little parking space, which, in a parking-deprived city like Pune, is a big boon 😐
Though I’ve been regular with the servicing, I have a feeling I’ve been fleeced of the bike’s original parts. So after every servicing, the bike just gets worse, albeit after working fine for a week.
Just a couple of months back, the BIL had got it serviced again. Yet, within a few weeks, the starter wouldn’t work anymore. The battery is so low, that even after a drive of 20kms, the button start doesnt work 😦
I’ve been kicking away for ages, not to mention, fuming away mentally and literally at traffic junctions (where I cant switch off the ignition, because there is no time for me to get down, put the bike on main stand and start kicking away). I’ve been burning more fuel that before and thats giving me some serious heart-burn.
Lately, I was even thinking of getting it exchanged for a new bike.
That is, until last Friday, when my junk of a bike, took me sailing safely to a far-off place, with me, my MIL and two kids in tow!
I didn’t know my bike had it in her. I mean, I’m a heavy-weight. The MIL more so. The twins, together weigh around 28kgs. The total weight on my bike was roughly 180Kgs!!!
Imagine!!
And yet, it drove us smoothly over an incline and when we got got from the other side, the wheels gripped hard and the brakes were smooth.
So okay, all I wanted to say here was that my bike’s still got some juice left.
It is still good to go. I’ll postpone the exchanging for another year 😀

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The wretched sun is killing my ridge-gourds 😦
If this isn’t reason enough to wail away, I dont know what is!!
After all the love and devotion of watering, manuring, digging and providing supports, the sun comes around and plays spoil sport! Just when the tiny flowers bloomed and the teeny-weeny ridge-gourds took shape, the sun burned them to a cinder!! Around 20-30 of the little fruits have been burned away by now. Though I made sure that the plant was not placed in a very sunny area, the problem is that the hot winds accompanying the heat are just as deadly!!
*Sob*
I think this was a wrong season to plant it anyway.
Surprisingly though, two little fruits are still going strong. They’ve grown bigger than the others and haven’t turned yellow/brown yet, which gives me hope.
Keeping fingers crossed for the first harvest 🙂
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I saw a British war drama called Atonement by director Joe Wright.
I think I was never impressed with British movies before, strictly limiting myself to their comedies which surpasses the American’s (AND the Harry Potter series, of course 😀 ).
But this movie was an eye-opener. Starring, Keira Knightly and the beautifully naive James McAvoy, the movie is a heart-breaking narration of love in the times of war, of mistaken identities, fate and penance.
So beautifully is the movie shot that it was easy to ignore the slow pace and cryptic dialogues (which cut like scythes though the narrative). James McAvoy doesn’t need dialgoes. He can be mute and you would still know what he’s thinking. This guy can express volumes just with his eyes!!
The synopsis of the movie will be available on IMDB or Wiki, but I urge you to watch it before going for the synopsis.
The end is truly heart-breaking, but in a way which touches down deeper than normal. You root for the couple to have a happy ending and like the last scene shows, there is a wealth of wisdom in the eyes of the hero as he looks back with world-weary eyes and then steps inside to join his lady love.
For the faint-hearted, let me warn that this movie contains some really gruesome war images, which refuse to leave you long after you’re done watching them. You might feel compelled to press the fast-forward, but believe me, the shots are more aesthetic than gruesome and just add to the richness of the movie (one more indication of the futilities of war and its impact on innocent people).
Do watch it if you get the chance.

And ohh, how could I forget the background score?!! This is possibly the first time I heard of the typewriter as a musical instrument! Awesome work there!!
On an aside, I’m slowly getting addicted to watching movies on my laptop than watching it on the big-screen or the TV. Though I do like theaters, I feel that sometimes, the decibel levels of the theater go way over the movie’s needs. It is no fun trying to watch a serious drama with your hands clamped over your ears 😦
Television is a taboo, for obvious reasons. Its more about the advertisements than the movie and I’m not too keen on Ads.
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Speaking of Ads, I think there is a serious shortage of clever ads that make an impact. All the products use the same ad format. Think Deos and immediately you’ll recollect that ALL brands have women in skimpy clothing simpering/slithering/drooling/hyperventilating over the man who’s just bathed in the product (yup, bathed. Because a spray or two dont work!!)
Think about washing powders and ALL ads have kids sermonising their mothers on the choice of brand. OR, they have husbands who are glad that their wife’s hands are softer than before.
:roll:.
How about showing a guy helping his wife with the washing?! Then his opinion would matter, wouldn’t it??
Then there’s this other ad I saw, of an ailing and emancipated Rajesh Khanna claiming that his fans will never leave him. I wanted to feel good for him, but somehow the sentiment dipped towards pity. Immense pity that a yesteryear’s superstar is content to have his ‘fans’, albeit the mechanical ones. That familiar cock of the head in the end was more pathetic than endearing 😦
And I really MUST do a post on unFAIR means of playing with the female psyche. These guys crossed the laxman Rekha with this ad!!
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Have bought a pair of roller-skates for the twins.Unfortunately, it was the only pair available in that size. Haven’t shown it to the twins yet. The BF has asked me to buy another pair before I let the twins set their eyes on this one. Else, we’ll have to prepare for the Battle-Of-NeverEnding-Proportions (with Lui winning, of course 😀 )
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I’ve been sleeping loads.
L-O-A-D-S!!
All thanks to the MIL who’s now enjoying her school’s summer vacations. She has taken over the morning’s kitchen duties from yours truly
So instead of setting an alarm for 5:30 or 6AM, I get up at *hold your breath* 8 AM!!!
EIGHT!!!
Thats like practically mid-day 😀
So yeah, am less grumpier and more chirpier these days 😀
That is, till I saw “Housefull2” day before yesterday.
Been in mourning since then 😦

Thats all for now.
Much more randomness coming in future posts!!
Stay tuned 🙂

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Life with RS & SS

"You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore... but let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you."
Author: Khalil Gibran
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Aren't those lines beautiful?! Each time I mention that I have twins, I simply LOVE the way the words feel to my ears...as if, just saying it was a blessing (which it is).
Each day, each hour, minute,second is a blessing.
I cant even think of my life before you two....Its almost as if it all got wiped off and I started life afresh after you both arrived.
Me, as a mother was born the day you two did....and together, we grow, we learn, we love, we laugh, we live.